Birthday Boy!!!

Another Birthday!!! My Samuel will be turning ten years old tomorrow!!! I don't know where the time has gone!

My fun-loving, game playing, sweet natured boy is growing up!!!

He is going to be ten years old!! People often comment on his small stature (he takes after his momma :0)) But Sam has a heart so big that I wonder where he keeps it!!

He is a willing and cheerful helper!!

He is a great big brother who loves to play with and help his little brothers and sisters!
And best of all he loves Jesus!! He prays for his family and friends and really wants to please God!!

Sam, Daddy and Mommy are so proud of you!! You are a blessing to this family and I'm so glad God gave you to us!!! Happy Birthday, Honey!!! We love you lots and lots!!!!

Winter Prep

We've been busy gathering the last sunny days of summer into our memories - getting ready for the grey days of winter.

A few days ago we met some friends for a day at a beautiful lake very near Mt. Rainer (which I forgot to take a picture of - silly girl!!)

The day involved all kinds of water play:

I even got to go sailing on this very cute little sail boat!!

We got home near midnight after spending the evening roasting marshmallows and visiting with our friends. What fun everyone had!! This kind of winter preparation is the best!!!

Creatures - Hawaii Style

I was working in the garden the other day and I was thanking God that I could work out there and not worry about insects that look like they came from a Godzilla movie!! In Hawaii all the bugs seem to look more like monsters than insects!!

I thought I'd share pictures of the creatures we found there:

Starting off easy - an Egret - about as tall as your average four year old - very pretty and stately:
Zebra dove - very friendly and cute with it's blue blush:

A little creepier now - a gecko - they are everywhere - especially inside - they make a weird barking chirp at night - friendly and cute if you like amphibians:

Another amphibian - I wouldn't ordinarily classify a toad as creepy but this is a cane toad and they surely do belong in the weird category - first they smell like something your cat left in the littler box - (don't ask me why he picked it up!!!!) second, if they are squeezed they put out a deadly poison - believe me - I was very sure Dan did NOT squeeze that toad and I made him wash his hands very well!!!

A giant stick bug - I thought it would be fun to hold it but when Dan put it on my arm it started to RUN - very fast - toward the inside of my shirt - I tried very hard not to scream - but didn't do too well. That bug instantly fell into the creepy category when it started to run!!

This is VERY creepy: It's a cane spider - a very large arachnid about as big as an adult hand - or bigger!! Dan thought it would be fun to touch one and low and behold they have a hidden talent - they JUMP!!! - HIGH!!! Oh my - these are the things out of bad movies - this one jumped right on Dan and started running up his leg!!! He is much braver than me - he didn't fall down in a faint!!!
So those are a few of the creatures that I managed to get pictures of - there were two more that at their sightings getting the camera was the last thing on my mind.

One was the giant cockroach that ran over me in the middle of the night - at that moment all I could think about was protecting Essie from the monster - I definitely don't miss that!!

The second was really the most creepy thing of all - it was a GIANT centipede - it really looked like a creature from a Godzilla movie. It had taken up habitation in our room and the girls saw it first. Oh the screaming!!! I thought - Oh, silly girls - it's just a bug (that was when I was still innocent to the nature of Hawaiian insects). Well, when I approached the location of the creature and laid eyes on it - I doubt anyone could have run faster - I discovered that at 42 years of age I can still move very, very fast when I need too!! A very brave person got rid of it with a very heavy shoe - and it needed to be beat to death twice!!! We found out later that to really kill them you must use a knife and sever it's head from it's body - GROSS!!! I would think after that one should be knighted!!!

So now I am very happy with the slugs and small little insects here in Washington State (well, maybe not those nasty green worms that eat my lettuce - they can go to Hawaii!!)

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Holes

The other day my boys asked me if there was a place they could dig a hole in the yard. I was busy and absent-mindedly said "Sure down in the back." A few hours later I went out and this is what I found:

Amazing!!

Sweet Corn Season

The essentials:
The huskers:

Mmmm Good:

Everyone enjoys!!
We love sweet corn season!!!

Hawaii Pictures

Some people I know have asked for more pictures of Hawaii so here they are - these are of the scenery and of some of the fun we had - there are other pictures of our VBS that I posted last week in case you missed them :0)!!

Orchids in the beautiful garden of the youth leader of the church

In the church garden

After church on our last Sunday

Yes, we did get the chance to try our hand at surfing:

My boys acted like they'd been doing it all their lives!

And yes, I did catch a wave or two myself - although I won't be giving it all up to go spend my life surfing!!! That Seattle tan was much to shocking for the local surfers!! (Not to mention they were all way younger and skinnier :0)!!:We had a day of wind and torrential rain and 85 degrees - a novelty for us PNWesterners who are used to steady chilly drizzle - they thought we were crazy to go out and play in it - it was great!!

Sun rise on the beach - another thing I've never seen before living on the West Coast - we go to the beach to see the sun set - needless to say my directions were all mixed up because the water was on the wrong side!!

This tree was filled with sprays of flowers that smelled fabulous - there were tons of tiny birds who seemed to love the tree as much as I did!!

Hope you enjoyed - have a wonderful Saturday and a blessed Lord's Day!!!

Catch Up

The last couple of weeks have been wonderful, memory making and very out of the ordinary. I've enjoyed it all very much but I am very happy to get back to my regular life. Crazy as it may be - Hawaii is wonderful but my heart is here in my home with my whole family around me!!

While the trip was great there is some catching up around here that has needed to be done :)

On rest - this was not a restful trip for anyone :),

On laundry (of course),

On housework (of course, again),

On my garden,

On playing with the younger kids,

and on blogging!!!

The last three items are so much more fun :)

Essie always my "helper":

Another garden helper
Resting after all that hard work:
I learned lots on my missions trip - most that I can apply to my daily life - it was a gift from God - an experience that I will always be thankful for!! But for this time in my life - home is were my heart is!!

Scenes From Hawaii

Hawaii was wonderful. God was with us. We worked in a tiny town that has had its share of tragedy. The church we worked with was amzingly welcoming and generous!! We were blessed beyond anything we expected! We were showered with love and more food than we could possibly eat!!

The island of Kauai is lush green and gorgeous!! Pictures don't do it justice just as my words cannot begin to share what we really experienced but I will share anyway!!

Tim playing games with the local kids in Vacation Bible School:

Esther making friends:

Daniel hanging with some local teens: Sunrise on the beach:

More beach:

Dan telling the Bible story as VBS:Esther and Mommy looking at a beautiful waterfall:Craft time at VBS:

Matt and his new Hawaiian friends:

What a beautiful place God made - and what a wonderful time I had watching and participating with my sons in this work - it was an amazing gift from God!!